Japanese brands treat buyers to price cuts

THE first phase of the Japanese free trade agreement has spawned price cuts worth thousands of dollars to new-car buyers.

Subaru combined the cuts to its Liberty and Outback ranges with a repositioning that saw prices slashed between 4.6 percent and a massive 25 percent. At the same time, the Impreza comes down $500, XV $750 and Forester $1000 (Exiga and Tribeca are gone).

Toyota used the opportunity to reposition some models, with price cuts of up to 8.4 percent, though the Toyota 86 (like the Subaru BRZ) remains unchanged.

Mazda also reduced the price of most of its Japanese-made cars – the 3, CX-5 and 6 – by 2.5 percent.